Adhesive composition for the manufacturing of corrugated paper board

ABSTRACT

An adhesive composition comprising having an amount of an adhesive, and an amount of an additive which is selected from the group of homopolymers of acrylic acid, copolymers of acrylic acid and, polyacrylates, polyurethanes, cellulose thickening agent, natural or synthetic gum, natural or synthetic resin, silica or an inorganic mineral having a layered structure.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a reissue application of U.S. Pat. No. 7,994,252 which issuedAug. 9, 2011 based on U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/564,927, filed17 Jun. 2006. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/564,927 is thenational stage entry of International Application No. PCT/BE2004/000093filed 25 Jun. 2004, which claims priority from Belgian Application No.2003/0411 filed 17 Jul. 2003, the disclosures entireties of both each ofwhich are is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an adhesive composition as disclosed inthe preamble of the first claim one or more of the claims.

Laminated corrugated board is a multilayer material in which one or bothof the top and bottom side of a corrugated cardboard core are adhered toa sheet of flat board or paper. In the manufacturing of corrugatedboard, often use is made of a starch based adhesive. An adhesive layeris applied to the top of the corrugations, following which the tops ofthe corrugations are adhered to the paper sheet. Thereby it is importantthat, depending on whether single faced or double backed cardboard isproduced, (i) good adhesion is obtained under application of high,respectively relatively low pressure; (ii) extensive contact,respectively restricted contact is established between the surfaces tobe bonded. It is furthermore important that when applying the adhesive,its viscosity is sufficiently low, but that after application theviscosity rapidly increases due to gelatinisation of the starch uponheating.

In this respect, EP-A-1.101.809 discloses that gelatinisation may bepromoted through addition of sodium hydroxide and a boron compound, forexample boric acid or borax. This is done to solve the problem ofproviding an adhesive composition with a sufficiently high solidscontent and a reduced water content, with the aim of minimisingdeformation of the corrugations and energy consumption for evaporatingthe water from the card board after the adhesive has been applied. It isdisclosed that with starch as the binding agent, the upper limit of thedry solids content is determined by the starch concentration asotherwise insufficient water is present to guarantee good adhesion andthe viscosity of the adhesive composition becomes too high. The additionof a water insoluble salt in particular calcium carbonate allowsincreasing the dry solids content to over 46 wt. %. The calciumcarbonate is added in a ratio starch:calclum carbonate which is at leastbetween 50:50, preferably between 90:10.

The adhesive composition disclosed in EP-A-1.101.809 however presentsthe disadvantage that the addition of the filler is expensive andinvolves clogging of the processing equipment.

FR-A-2784992 discloses an amylaceous adhesive composition formanufacturing corrugated paper board, which contains water, starch andan amount of two groups of active agents. The active agents serve thepurpose of increasing the viscosity of the adhesive composition and ofimproving the wettability properties. The first active agent is abiodegradable soap, the second active agent is a sequestering agent forcomplexing alkaline earth metal ions such as calcium, magnesium, ironand others. Suitable sequestering agents include polycarboxylic acidsand/or phosphonic acid and/or polyacrylc acid, and or nitrilotriaceticacid or their alkaline salts and/or alkaline phosphates and mixturesthereof. The sequestering agent has the function of solubilising anyfatty acids remaining in the soap.

Paper board produced using the adhesive composition disclosed inFR-A-2784992 however presents the disadvantage that it shows a high riskto deformation and weakening of the paper board structure, due toincreased penetration of the adhesive into the paper. Water has beenfound to cause deformation of both the corrugated paper and the flatliners.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is thus a need to an adhesive composition with which the risk todeformation of the paper may be reduced.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an adhesivecomposition with which the risk to deformation of the corrugations ofthe card/paper board may be further reduced.

This is achieved according to the present invention with the technicalfeatures of the characterising portion of the first claim one or more ofthe claims.

When analysing the problems occurring with the manufacturing of paper orcard board, the inventor inventors proposed to use an adhesive with adecreased penetration ability into the paper/card board, rather than anincreased penetration ability as is taught by the prior art. In histheir opinion, decreasing adhesive penetration into the paper shouldallow saving on the amount of adhesive applied, limit the amount ofwater contacting the paper/card board and in that way limit the amountof water penetrating the paper/card board.

The inventor has inventors have now found that a reduced card/paperpenetration ability may be obtained with an adhesive which at the timeof application has a lower viscosity than the known adhesivecomposition. The inventor inventors thereby envisaged that with thereduced viscosity of the adhesive at the time of application, a smalleramount and a thinner layer of adhesive could be applied to thecorrugations. With a thinner layer applied, the amount of watercontacting and penetrating the paper/card board is reduced, thusreducing energy requirements for evaporating water that in the course ofthe lamination process had penetrated the corrugated paper board. Thereduced water penetration also minimises the risk to deformation of thecorrugated paper/card as well as of the flat liners. When furtheranalysing the problems occurring with the manufacturing of paper or cardboard, the inventor inventors concluded that the viscosity of theadhesive composition after application should be sufficiently high toensure good adhesion.

To meet both requirements of a sufficiently low viscosity at the time ofapplication of the adhesive and a sufficiently high viscosity at thetime of effectuating the adhesion of the corrugated layer and the flatliner, the inventor inventors proposed to add to the adhesivecomposition an additive as disclosed in the characterising portion ofthe first claim one or more of the claims. The claimed additives showpseudo plastic properties and are capable of imparting this pseudoplastic behaviour to the adhesive composition containing them, even whenpresent in a low concentration in the adhesive composition only. Byincorporating the claimed additives, an adhesive composition can beobtained whose viscosity changes depending on the shear forces that areapplied to it. In particular, the adhesive composition containing theadditive of the present invention has the effect that:

-   -   It shows a reduced viscosity when applied to the corrugated        paper/card, so that the amount applied may be minimised. The        inventor has inventors have namely found that an adhesive        composition containing the claimed additive shows the effect        that its viscosity decreases when subjected to shear forces.    -   asAs soon as the adhesive composition has been applied to the        corrugations, an almost instantaneous increase in the viscosity        of the adhesive takes place, which prevents the adhesive from        flowing away and ensures good adhesion. In this respect the        inventor hasinventors have found that initial viscosity of the        additive is restored virtually immediately upon removal of the        shear forces, as a consequence of which penetration of the        adhesive into the card/paper board is minimised. The reduced        adhesive penetration reduces water penetration into the        paper/card board. This has the consequence that energy        requirements for evaporating the penetrated water may be        minimised, that a paper/card board with an improved strength may        be obtained and that the tendency to lasting of the paper board        may be reduced thus putting the paper board available for        further processing after a shorter drying time. On the other        hand, the viscosity is such that sufficient water penetration is        ensured to minimise the risk to the formation of cracks in the        paper/card board.

The inventor has inventors have further observed that with the claimedadditives the viscosity of the adhesive composition may be reversiblyincreased and decreased. This had the advantage that any adhesive whichhas not be transferred from the applicator to the cardboard surface butremained on the applicator, may be recycled and re-used without thisadversely affecting the adhesive strength. The inventor has inventorshave further observed that the adhesive composition shows a betteraffinity for the card/paper board and provides an improved adhesion aswell as improved printability of the surface as compared to prior artadhesive compositions. Prior art adhesive compositions used to controlthe viscosity of the adhesive composition by controlling the gellingtemperature. However, gelling is an irreversible process and oncegelled, the adhesive composition cannot be re-used and looses loses itsadhesive properties. With the present invention, the viscosity of theadhesive composition may be controlled independently of the gellingprocess. The presence of the additive hardly affects the gellingproperties of the composition.

The claimed additives have been found to show pseudo plastic behaviourand to impart this property to the adhesive composition containing them,even in case they are present in small amounts of for example 0.001 -5wt. % or 0.001 -1 wt. % only. As only a small amount is needed, thenature of the adhesive composition remains virtually unaffected, as wellas its solids content and gelling properties, which is important whenprocessing the composition.

The above described effects are particularly pronounced with an additivewhich is a homopolymer of acrylic acid, in particular a homopolymer ofan α, β unsaturated monocarboxylic acrylic acid having 3-5 carbon atoms,which corresponds to formula I:CH2═CHR—COOH  formula ICH₂═CR—COOH  formula Iwherein R is a substituent selected from the group of H, monovalentalkyl, aryl or alkylaryl radicals and monovalent cyclo alkyl radicals,although H as a substituent is preferred. Nevertheless, R may also beselected from the group of alkyl, alkoxy, haloalkyl, cyanoalkyl andsimilar groups containing 1 to 9 carbon atoms.

The above described effects have also been observed with an additivewhich is a copolymer, in which the acrylic acid of formula I isco-polymerised with at least one alkyl acrylate of formula II:CH2═CR′—CO—OR″  formula II.CH₂═CR′—CO—OR″  formula IIIn in which R′ is selected from the group of H, methyl, ethyl and R″ isa C10 -C30 alkyl group, preferably a C10-C20 C₁₀-C₃₀ alkyl group,preferably a C₁₀-C₂₀ alkyl group, the copolymers being cross-linked witha cross-linking agent which is a polyfunctional vinylidene monomercontaining at least two terminal methylene CH2=C CH₂═C groups as hasbeen described above.

Representative acrylates of formula II include methylacrylate,ethylacrylate, propylacrylate, butylacrylate, methylmethacrylate,methylethacrylate, octylacrylate, laurylacrylate, stearylacrylate,behenyl acrylate, and the corresponding methacrylates. Suitablecopolymers include copolymers of a mixtures of two or more of the aforementioned aforementioned compounds with the acrylic acid of formula I.Other comonomers include acrylic nitrites, -olefinically unsaturatednitriles preferably those having 3-10 carbon atoms, for exampleacrylonitrile and methacrylonitrile; monoolefinically unsaturatedacrylic amides, for example acrylamide and methacrylamide;N-alklylolamides of α,β-olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acidsincluding those having 4-10 carbon atoms, preferablyN-methylolmethacrylamide.

Homopolymers of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid are preferred, becauseof their superior properties.

An optimum viscosity ratio between a first situation in which shearforces are applied to the composition and a second situation in whichshear forces are removed, is obtained with an additive in which thehomopolymers or copolymers are cross-linked with a cross-linking agentwhich is a polyfunctional alkylakylene alkylalkylene or a polyfunctionalalkylalkylidene or a polyfunctional vinylidene monomer containing atleast two terminal methylene CH2=C CH₂═C groups, and having a molecularweight of between 0.05 -100, preferably between 0.5 and 10, morepreferably between 1 -5 billion Dalton, the additive showing theproperty that upon application of shear forces, the viscosity decreases,the viscosity increasing instantly as the shear forces are removed.

Preferably use is made of a cross-linking agent which is apolyfunctional vinylidene monomer, more preferred a polyalkenylpolyether, in particular an allylpentaerythritol. Other suitablecross-linking agents include polyfunctional vinylidene monomerscontaining at least two terminal CH2=C CH₂═C groups, for examplebutadiene, isoprene, divinylbenzene, divinyl naphthalene, allylacrylates, and the like. Preferred cross-linking agents are thosecontaining an alkenyl group in which an olefinic double bond is attachedto a terminal methylene group. Particularly preferred cross-linkingagents include polyethers which contain on average two or more alkenylether groups per molecule. Other suitable cross-linking monomers includediallyl esters, dimethylallyl ethers, allyl or methallyl acrylates,acrylamides. Examples of those are allyl pentaerythritol, allyl sucrose,trimethylolpropane triacrylate, 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate,trimethylolpropane propane diallyl ether, pentaerythritol triacrylateand the like.

The adhesive composition of this invention presents the advantage ofshowing an increased cohesion, as a consequence of which the risk tocracking of the adhesive layer, once applied, may be reduced. Theadhesive composition of this invention is particularly suitable for themanufacturing of the more recently developed corrugated paper/cardboards, where there is an increasing tendency to reduce the width of thecorrugations and increase the number of corrugations. In the recentlydeveloped corrugated boards, the corrugations may have a height ofbetween 0.6 and 6.5 mm, the strength of the corrugations decreasing withincreasing height. The adhesive composition of this invention is furtherparticularly suitable for the manufacturing of the more luxurious,coated paper, which is usually coated with a coating agent that hampersevaporation of water. As with the present invention water penetration isreduced, the amount of water that needs to be evaporated is also reducedand the risk to formation of steam bubbles when evaporating the water isminimized, even when used with coating agents showing a low waterpenetration.

Suitable commercially available products for use as the additive in theadhesive composition of this invention are available from Sigma ChemicalCompany, Rohm & Haas for example Acusol®, Noveon for example Carbopol®,from Wako Pure Chemical Industries of Japan, or from Allied Colloids ofGreat Britain for example Salcare®.

The additive which is incorporated into the adhesive composition of thisinvention will mostly be water soluble. It can be mixed as such with anadhesive composition in the solid state, or it may be added to anaqueous adhesive composition. To facilitate mixing, the additive ispreferably diluted with a solid product before being added to theadhesive formulation. Suitable diluting agents are for example starch orinert inorganic oxides, for example siliciumdioxide, aluminium oxide,magnesium oxide, or mixed oxides of two or more of those. In that casethe additive is mixed with the diluting agent before being added to theadhesive composition. The additive can be mixed in the form of a solidcomposition with a solid starch composition, or can be added to a liquidstarch composition as a liquid composition. The use of starch as adiluting agent for the additive assists in minimizing the risk to theformation of lumps upon mixing with the remainder of the adhesivecomposition.

In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the adhesive compositioncontains the additive in a small amount which will mostly be at leastapproximately 0.001 wt. %, preferably at least 0.05 wt. % with respectto the total weight of the composition. The maximum amount of additiveincluded will mostly be less than 5 wt. %, preferably less than 1 wt. %,more preferably between less than 0.5 wt. % with respect to the totalweight of the adhesive composition. These concentrations suffice toachieve the desired effect that the viscosity decreases to a desiredextent when shear forces are applied to the composition, the viscosityrestoring virtually immediately as pressure is removed.

Because of the low amount of additive needed, (i) the solids content ofthe adhesive composition of this invention remains virtually unaffected,which is important when processing the composition in terms ofminimising the risk to the occurrence of clogging of the processequipment; (ii) there is no need to leave out or modify any otheringredient of the adhesive composition to compensate for any propertythat might have changed in an undesirable manner, (iii) the need tore-consider the nature and concentration of the components present inthe adhesive composition, to compensate for the additive, can bedispensed with as well as the need to partially or fully remove one ormore compounds of the adhesive composition.

The above described additive is suitable for use with a large variety ofadhesive compositions, the nature of the adhesive composition not beingcritical to the invention. Suitable examples include adhesivecompositions based on a polysaccharide adhesive, in particular a starchbased adhesive although cellulose, or starch originating from peas, riceand potatoes are considered suitable as well. Thereby the starch may bea modified starch or the usual non-modified starch. The additive of thepresent invention is however also suitable for use with apolyvinylacetate based adhesive composition, although starch basedadhesive compositions are preferred. Examples of suitable starch basedadhesive compositions include so-called Stein-Hall adhesives, in whichstarch is present in both gelatinised and non-gelatinised from. Atypical Stein-Hall adhesive for the manufacturing of corrugated boardcontains about 80 wt. % of water, about 15 wt. % of non-gelatinisedstarch, about 3 wt. % of gelatinised starch, about 0.55 wt. % of sodiumhydroxide and about 0.4 wt. % of borax decahydrate although the weightratios in which the different components are present, may vary. To thiscomposition preferably about 0.1 wt. % of the additive is added.

Other suitable starch based adhesive compositions for use with thepresent invention contain 0.5-50 parts by weight of starch, between 0.01-2.5 parts by weight of alkalihydroxide, between 0.01-2 parts by weightof borax, 80-150 parts of water and 0.0008-10,25 10.25 parts of theadditive. The gelatinised starch acts as the carrier and is an effectivedispersing agent for the non-gelatinised starch. The non-gelatinisedstarch is caused to gelatinise on the warm paper surface, which involvesa rapidly increasing viscosity. Similar examples of the above describedadhesive formulation are the so-called no-carrier, Pristine and Minocaradhesives in which all the starch is in a swollen, but thenon-gelatinised state. The starch may however also be at least partlypre-gelatinised or swollen. The inventors have now found that with theadhesive composition of this invention, the use of a carrier materialcan be dispensed with, which permits economizing on the starch. Thus,the amount of starch used in the adhesive composition may be reducedwith at least 2.5 wt. % with respect to the total weight of thecomposition. , often even 4 or 5 wt. %. This embodiment presents thefurther advantage that a single phase adhesive composition is providedin stead of a two phase adhesive composition.

Furthermore, The the starch used in the adhesive composition of thisinvention is selected from the generally commercially availablestarches, for example rice, wheat, corn, potato, tapioca or pea starch.The starch may be used in its natural form, or it may be physically,chemically or enzymatically modified. Physically modified starch isgenerally available in the form of roll-dried or extruded starch.

The adhesive composition may further contain an optical clarificationagent, to allow controlling the quality of the adhesive compositionusing UV irradiation.

An adhesive composition of this invention can be prepared by mixing 500parts of primary water with 60 parts by weight of primary starch, toobtain a primary starch mixture. The mixture is stirred for 1 to 15minutes. Thereafter, to the thus obtained mixture 1.8 parts of apolyacrylate homopolymer additive cross-linked with anallylpentaerythritol is added, as well as 15 parts by weight of sodiumhydroxide, 600 parts by weight of water, 450 parts by weight of starchand 11 parts by weight of borax. Thereafter, the mixture is stirredagain for 1-15 minutes.

In another example, approximately 850 parts by weight of water are mixedwith 3 parts of a polyacrylate homopolymer additive cross-linked with anallylpentaerythritol and the mixture is mixed. Thereafter, about 56parts of corn starch are added and the mixture is heated to 40° C.Caustic soda is added in a concentration of 32% and an amount ofapproximately 16 parts in dry weight and the mixture is mixed again.Thereafter, about 950 parts of water are added, about 550 parts ofstarch and 13 parts of borax. The mixture is stirred for 10 minutes.

In another embodiment, the polyacrylate homopolymer cross-linked with anallylpentaerythritol is first diluted with starch and an opticalbrightening agent in a weight ratio of 75-125, preferably 90-95 parts byweight of starch, 0,5 0.5-10, preferably 1-5 parts of opticalbrightening agent and 1-10, preferably 4-9 parts of polyacrylate. Thismixture is then added to the above described adhesive composition in theabove described ratio of between 0,001-5 wt. % of additive with respectto the total weight of the composition.

The present invention also relates to a solid pre-mix which contains theadhesive composition of this invention as described above. The solidpremix contains about 20-80, preferably 40-60 parts of gelatinisedstarch, about 5-50, preferably 10-30parts 30 parts of alkali, preferablycaustic soda, about 200-750, preferably 350-550 parts of starch powder,about 1-25, preferably 5-15 parts of borax, and about 0.01 -5,preferably 0.5 - 2.5 parts of the additive of the present inventiondescribed above. However, if so desired, the use of gelatinised starchmay be dispensed with if so desired, as is disclosed above.

The adhesive can than be prepared by adding an amount of water to anamount of the premix.

The premix may be prepared by mixing the above described ingredients inthe given amounts. The premix may for example be prepared by mixing40-60parts 60 parts of starch with 400-600 parts of water, about 10- 20parts of alkali, preferably caustic soda, about 350-550 parts of starchpowder, about 5-15 parts of borax, heating the mixture to gelatinse thestarch. Thereafter, the water is evaporated to obtain a dry powder. Tothat powder about 0.5-2.5 parts of the additive of the present inventionare added. The thus obtained premix needs only be mixed with asufficient amount of water, for example about 500 - 700 parts of waterto obtain the desired adhesive composition.

The present invention also relates to a process for the production oflaminated corrugated paper or card board comprising a plurality of superimposed layers of corrugated paper or card connected together byintermittent flat sheets of paper, which process is characterised inthat an amount of the above described adhesive composition is applied tothe top of the corrugations, where after the layers are adhered to eachother under pressure.

The present invention also relates to a process for the production ofcompact paper or card board comprising a plurality of super imposedlayers of paper or card, which process is characterised in that anamount of the above described adhesive composition is applied to thelayers, where after the layers are adhered to each other under pressure.

The present invention further relates to a laminar paper or card boardcomprising a plurality of super imposed layers of corrugated paper orcard connected together by intermittent flat sheets of paper, which areadhered to each other by means of the above described adhesivecomposition.

The present invention further relates to a compact paper or card boardcomprising a plurality of super imposed layers of paper or card, whichare adhered to each other by means of the above described adhesivecomposition.

The adhesive composition of this invention is also suitable for themanufacturing of laminated paper/card board, honeycomb paper/card boardand multi-layer paper/card board comprising a plurality of layers ofcorrugated paper or card, each layer being adhered to a bottom and/ortop layer of a flat liner.

The present invention further relates to the use of the above describedadhesive composition in the manufacturing of paper, according to whichan amount of the adhesive composition is added to the paper pulp in thecourse of the paper production process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Further preferred embodiments of the present invention are disclosed inthe appending dependent claims and are illustrated in the appending FIG.1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A device for producing corrugated card board is shown in FIG. 1. Theadhesive is contained in a glue tray 1 in which an applicator 2, this isa cylinder with a large diameter is rotated. Upon rotation, adhesive 3is entrained with the surface of the applicator 2. The viscosity of theadhesive composition 3 is affected somewhat, as rotation of theapplicator 2 induces shear forces to the adhesive composition. A doctorroll 4 is positioned at a small distance from the applicator 2, whichcorresponds to the glue gap 5. The position of the doctor roll 4determines the thickness of the glue gap 5, i.e. the thickness of theadhesive layer 6 that is entrained with the cylinder and applied to thecorrugated paper/card. By accelerating the doctor roll 4 with respect tothe applicator 2, the adhesive composition is subjected to an additionalshear force as a consequence of which the viscosity of the adhesive onthe applicator is further decreased. As the tops of the corrugatedpaper/card 7 contact the applicator 2, a strip of adhesive 8 is appliedto each corrugation. Because of the low viscosity the strip will have asmall thickness only. As soon as the adhesive formulation contacts acorrugation, the distance between the adhesive 8 and the doctor roll 4increases, shear forces are removed and the viscosity of the adhesiveincreases almost instantly, thus reducing the risk to flowing away ofthe adhesive or penetration of the adhesive into the paper/board andensuring good adhesion. Thereafter, when heating the adhesive coatedpaper/card board to a temperature of about 50-65° C., gelling of theadhesive composition takes place.

The reduced viscosity entails the advantage that a smaller amount ofadhesive can be applied, without this adversely affecting the quality ofthe corrugated paper board, which is an important economicalconsideration. As a consequence of the virtually instant restoration ofthe viscosity as soon as shear forces are removed, any adhesiveremaining on the applicator, shows a reduced risk to splashing. Thus,waste of the adhesive composition may be reduced, which is an importanteconomical advantage.

The person skilled in the art will be capable of selecting theappropriate rotation speed of each of the applicator and doctor roll,and of adjusting the acceleration of the applicator and doctor roll withrespect to each other and with respect to the paper, to achieve optimumviscosity and optimum viscosity decrease.

1. An adhesive composition comprising an amount of an adhesive and anamount of at least one additive, wherein the additive comprises: a. atleast one homopolymer of an α,β-unsaturated monocarboxylic acrylic acidhaving 3-5 carbon atoms, which corresponds to formula I:CH₂═CH CR—COOH  formula I wherein R is a substituent selected from thegroup of H, monovalent alkyl, aryl, alkylaryl radicals, monovalent cycloalkyl radicals, alkoxy, haloalkyl, cyanoalkyl containing 1 to 9 carbonatoms, b. or at least one copolymer thereof with at least one alkylacrylate represented by formula IICH₂═CR′—CO—OR″  formula II in which R′ is selected from the group of H,methyl, ethyl and with an additive where R″ is a C₁₀-C₃₀ alkyl group,the at least one homo- or copolymer being cross-linked with across-linking agent which is a polyfunctional alkylalkylene or apolyfunctional alkyalkylidene alkylalkylidene or a polyfunctionalvinylidene monomer containing at least two terminal methylene CH₂═Cgroups, and the cross-linked homo- or copolymer having a molecularweight of between 0.05 billion_ -Dalton-100 billion Dalton.
 2. Theadhesive composition of claim 1, wherein the homo- or copolymer iscross-linked with a cross-linking agent which is a polyfunctionalvinylidene monomer.
 3. The adhesive composition of claim 1, wherein theat least one homo- or copolymer is cross-linked with a cross-linkingagent, the cross-linked homo- or copolymer having a molecular weight ofbetween 0.5-10 billion Dalton.
 4. The adhesive composition of claim 1,wherein the at least one homo- or copolymer is cross-linked with across-linking agent, the cross-linked homo- or copolymer having amolecular weight of between 1-5 billion Dalton.
 5. The adhesivecomposition of claim 1, wherein the at least one homo- or copolymer is apolymer of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid.
 6. The adhesive compositionof claim 1, wherein in formula II, R″ is a C₁₀-C₂₀ alkyl group.
 7. Theadhesive composition of claim 1, wherein the cross-linking agent is apolyalkenyl polyether.
 8. The adhesive composition of claim 7, whereinthe cross-linking agent is an allylpentaerythritol.
 9. The adhesivecomposition of claim 1, wherein the adhesive composition is a pseudoplastic material.
 10. The adhesive composition of claim 1, wherein theadhesive composition is an adhesive composition based on starch,cellulose, pea originating cellulose or a polyvinylacetate adhesivecomposition or a mixture of two or more of these.
 11. The adhesivecomposition of claim 1, wherein the composition contains at least 0.001wt. %, and less than 5 wt. %, of the at least one additive with respectto the total weight of the adhesive composition.
 12. The adhesivecomposition of claim 1, wherein the composition contains between 0.5-50parts by weight of starch, between 0.01-2.5 parts by weight ofalkalihydroxide, between 0.01-2 parts by weight of borax and between80-150 parts by weight of water.
 13. A process for producing theadhesive composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least oneadditive is first diluted with starch, cellulose or a polyvinylacetateadhesive in a weight ratio of 75-100 parts by weight of starch, and0.5-10 parts of polyacrylate, and thereafter mixed with the adhesivecomposition.
 14. The process of claim 13, wherein 1-5 parts of opticalclarification agent is added to the adhesive composition.
 15. A processfor the production of laminated corrugated paper or card board,comprising a plurality of super imposed layers of corrugated paper orcard connected together by intermittent flat sheets of paper, wherein anamount of the adhesive composition according to claim 1 is applied tothe top of the corrugations, where after the layers are adhered to eachother under pressure.
 16. Paper board or card board comprising aplurality of super imposed layers of corrugated paper or card connectedtogether by intermittent flat sheets of paper, wherein the layers areadhered to each other by means of the adhesive composition as claimed inclaim
 1. 17. A compact paper or card board comprising a plurality ofsuper imposed layers of paper or card, which are adhered to each otherby means of the adhesive composition of claim
 1. 18. Paper comprising anamount of the adhesive composition as claimed in claim
 1. 19. A processfor the production of compact paper or card board comprising a pluralityof super imposed layers of paper or card, wherein an amount of theadhesive composition of claim 1 is applied to the layers, where afterthe layers are adhered to each other under pressure.
 20. A solid premixwhich is wherein it contains about 5-50 parts of alkali, about 200-750parts of starch powder, about 0.01-5 parts of the at least one additiveclaimed in claim
 1. 21. The solid premix of claim 20, wherein the solidpremix further contains about 20-80 parts of gelatinised starch.
 22. Thesolid premix of claim 20, wherein the premix contains about 1-25 partsof a buffer.
 23. The solid premix of claim 22, wherein borax is used asthe buffer.
 24. The adhesive composition of claim 1, wherein thecomposition contains at least 0.05 wt. % and less than 1 wt. % of the atleast one additive with respect to the total weight of the composition.25. An adhesive composition comprising an amount of an adhesive and anamount of at least one additive, wherein the additive comprises: a. atleast one homopolymer of an α,β-unsaturated monocarboxylic acrylic acidhaving 3-5 carbon atoms, which corresponds to formula I:CH₂═CR—COOH  formula I wherein R is a substituent selected from thegroup of H, monovalent alkyl, aryl, alkylaryl radicals, monovalent cycloalkyl radicals, alkoxy, haloalkyl, cyanoalkyl containing 1 to 9 carbonatoms, b. or at least one copolymer thereof with at least one alkylacrylate represented by formula IICH₂═CR′—CO—OR″  formula II in which R′ is selected from the group of H,methyl, ethyl and with an additive where R″ is a C₁₀-C₃₀ alkyl group,the at least one homo- or copolymer being cross-linked with across-linking agent which is a polyfunctional alkylalkylene or apolyfunctional alkyalkylidene alkylalkylidene monomer containing atleast two terminal methylene CH₂═C groups.
 26. An adhesive compositionof claim 25, wherein the additive has a molecular weight of between 0.05billion Dalton-100 billion Dalton.
 27. An adhesive composition of claim26, wherein the additive has a molecular weight of between 0.5 billionDalton-10 billion Dalton.
 28. An adhesive composition of claim 26,wherein the additive has a molecular weight of between 1 billionDalton-5 billion Dalton.